Turnkey or self-management?

Hello everyone,
we are at the very beginning of our construction project and are currently complete novices.
We are about to purchase our building plot near Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. We will be able to start building on our fully developed plot in the middle of next year.

Despite the long time ahead of us, we want to start planning already now. Often, a turnkey house at a fixed price is offered by various companies. However, many friends and colleagues have recently advised me to carry out the planning (and ultimately also the inspections) with an architect and to contract all trades individually during construction on my own. The cost savings would be at least €50,000.

I am very flexible in my job (timewise) and also willing to delve deeper into the topic and invest a lot of my own time and energy. Since I work as an IT project manager, I am rather clumsy with practical work. However, I basically trust myself with project management.
Ultimately, I would also view the matter quite practically financially: if I can save more money by contributing myself during construction than I earn net in the same time, then I would rather choose the construction and reduce my professional commitments significantly. With a potential saving of >€50,000, that would very likely be the case.

However, I do have the question whether this approach really makes sense for me. My biggest concerns are about ordering craftsmen. You always hear about the shortage of skilled workers, and if I end up waiting 1.5 years for, for example, the roofer as a private builder, I certainly have not gained anything.

I would be very happy to receive assessments!

If you search a little here or read along for a while, you will see that there are many opinions on your question, but no definitive answer. With a good construction manager and a good architect, individual building is probably fun. With bad ones, it is not. A fixed price from the general contractor or prefab house supplier lets some builders sleep better; for others, that is not so important.

I have never laid a brick, but I already see when choosing the architect and the surveyor that it is work to negotiate ideas and prices with five architects and with five surveyors. With the surveyor, it is still relatively easy (because it is clear what they are supposed to deliver), but not with the architect. How does a layperson recognize a good architect? Here you often read about chemistry needing to be right (do good chemists also build good houses?), or sometimes about the husband who a friend recommended. The prices quoted (at least by my architects) vary drastically, and the most expensive is definitely not the best. I am already looking forward to the 32,000 trades I still have ahead of me.

The more dependent you are on adhering to time and cost frames, the more you should perhaps decide on a professional who has done it dozens of times and takes the work off your hands. Of course, that costs something. If you can handle your own planning mistakes with ease (remember, you are an amateur!), then you may be the type for doing it yourself.

Many friends and colleagues have recently advised me to carry out the planning (and ultimately also the approvals) with an architect and to award all trades individually in self-management during construction. The cost savings would be at least €50,000.

I have to quote the "carrot" here: "No way, little Peter!" In this combination, I find it a rather strange piece of advice; I've never heard it like that before. I often hear from (first-time) builders who consider themselves gifted bargain hunters or shopping geniuses — but never before in combination with the wise advice to also have the planning architect manage the construction. Layperson self-awarding of individual contracts is Russian roulette. Letting the architect rest precisely in service phases 6 and 7 is advice that, even for my worst enemy, I would decisively lack the sadism to give: I understand too much about the pitfalls of tendering. On the other hand, my imagination is certainly sufficient to imagine that "simple minds" might consider this genius. The greatest cost savings, on the contrary, lie exactly in putting the tendering and awarding preparation into professional hands (and the turbo button for that is discipline with bay windows, corner windows, giant tiles, and the like).

Hehe - an IT guy with two left hands who wants to manage a house build.

If you want to build individually, then take the architect (but that can easily cost T€ 40 for all service phases). By the way, the money for the architect is already a large part of the building contractor's profit, as he doesn't need an architect and offers his house off the shelf.

If you want to take on things like construction management yourself, you should ask yourself if you are technically savvy enough to recognize every botch and manage the interfaces of the individual trades.
If you can put out tenders - that is, calculate quantities and qualities exactly - go ahead. Often even trained architects fail at that.

By the way, architect houses are often more expensive than houses off the shelf. That's because it becomes a custom-made product for you. With all the (expensive) special requests and adjustments that are not possible with the general contractor.

Thank you for the well-intentioned advice. I have already received similar feedback from various sources. I think I will rather discard the idea of complete individual contracting.

However, I have now heard about interesting alternative approaches. For example, I am advised to alternatively plan with the architect (e.g. service phases 1-3) and then approach various general contractors/trade contractors with the finished plans to obtain quotes. This way, I would receive comparable offers and have a strong negotiating position. But: do all general contractors/trade contractors go along with this, or do they usually insist on their standard packages? And is the paid planning service of the architect also credited?

With the general contractor/trade contractor, one could ultimately also agree that, for example, only the shell construction should be done (e.g. up to and including roofing), and the rest would be done by me via individual contracting. Provided this makes sense in terms of cost and effort…

What is the opinion on this approach and where would I likely stand price-wise compared to a standard house (Viebrockhaus, Town & Country, etc.)?

However, I have now heard of interesting alternative constructions. For example, I am advised to alternatively plan with the architect (e.g., service phases 1-3) and then approach various general contractors/trade contractors with the completed planning to obtain offers. This way, I would receive comparable offers and have a strong negotiating position. But: do all general contractors/trade contractors participate, or do they usually insist on their in-house standard designs? And is the paid planning service of the architect credited?
With the general contractor/trade contractor, one could ultimately also agree that, for example, only the shell construction should be done (e.g., including roofing), and the rest would be carried out by me through individual contracts. Provided this makes sense in terms of costs/effort...

Everything is possible. But service phases 1-3 are not enough. You should rather take phases 1-4 (5) and go to the general contractor with a finished product. However, you then have to spend at least a few thousand euros on a construction manager/site supervisor/expert who monitors the project.

And if the construction company already does the shell including the roof, it is almost no longer worthwhile to award the rest on your own. This is done rather when the interior construction is carried out by oneself, because you have the electrician or plumber in the family, lay the underfloor heating yourself, and can also lay tiles on the floor.

P.S. If you only approach different companies with service phases 1-3, it is like going to different car dealers and saying, "I need a car about 4.80m long, 4 doors, petrol engine, and four tires." You then get offered anything from an S-Class with all extras to a stripped-down Dacia.
Often, such inquiries result in very low prices being quoted that turn out to be expensive in the end due to various change orders (since you did not ask for specific things).